“恨誰給誰買”：火爆圣誕禮物 逼瘋孩子家長

Each year as Christmas rolls around, there always seems to be one toy that appears on every child's list to Santa.
每年圣誕節來臨的時候，總有那么一款每個孩子都想要的圣誕禮物。

But this year, that toy is quickly becoming the cause of despair amongst parents - many sick of spending hours removing the small spiky balls from their child's long hair.
但今年的這款“熱門”玩具可謂是家長們的噩夢，這種纏在孩子長發上的扎人小球讓很多家長都崩潰了。

Social media has been flooded with images of tangled tresses and warnings from parents about the popular Bunchems pack, which is made up of over 400 sticky, squishy marble-sized building balls - each adorned with tiny hooks.
社交媒體上鋪天蓋地的都是各種纏瞎了的頭發照片和家長們建議不要購買這款玩具的熱心忠告。這款火爆的拼裝玩具名叫“Bunchems”，內含400多個又黏又軟的小球，每個只有彈珠那么大，上面帶著小小的“倒刺”。

The description alone was a red flag for many, but those who didn't foresee the potential of the colourful balls to become wedged in hair found out the hard way.
雖然只看玩具描述就能讓很多家長望而卻步，但有些人完全沒料到這些彩色小球纏頭發的功力，因此吃了不少苦頭。

'A toy spawned from the darkest depths of hell,' one disgruntled customer wrote.
一位顧客憤憤地寫道：“這個玩具是從地獄最黑暗的底層蹦出來的！”

'Horrible, horrible, horrible toy for kids. I just spent the last TWO AND A HALF hours (absolutely, 100 percent not an exaggeration) attempting to remove 14 of these b*****d balls out of my daughter's hair.'
“真是個特別特別特別可怕的兒童玩具。我剛花了兩個半小時（絕對毫無夸張）從我閨女的頭發上解下來14個該死的小球。”

'Buy this toy for someone if you hate them or their child. They are the most incredible choking hazards on the planet. They bring pain and misery, tears, fighting, broken and ripped hair, and questions of one's sanity in handling life in general.'
“恨誰就給誰家孩子買這個玩具吧！它們是這個世界上最不可思議、最令人窒息的禍害。它帶來的只有痛苦、悲哀、眼淚、糾結以及斷掉的、撕扯下來的頭發，再也無法理智地面對生活了。”

'Great if you want to pay $200 to have them professionally removed from the hair,' another wrote.
還有人寫道：“你最好花上200美元找專業人士幫你把這些球解下來。”

'I am a hairstylist and spent a total of 4 hours removing these from a little girls hair today! She had 45 of them matted into her hair! 4 hours of pain and $200 later ..... Not really worth it.'
“我是個發型師，今天我花了整整四個小時從一個小姑娘頭上解這些球！她頭發上居然纏了45個球！她遭了整整四個小時的罪還得給我200美元……只能說真的不值！”

But considering Target Australia has already sold out of the Bunchems Mega Pack, the reviews appear to be making little impact on parents shopping for Christmas and many stand by the controversial toy.
雖然這款玩具引發這么多爭議，但在澳大利亞的“塔吉特”百貨商場，就連超大包的“Bunchems”都賣光了。看來上面這些評價對圣誕采購的父母以及這款玩具的支持者來說幾乎沒任何影響。

'These are awesome. Reading these reviews are ridiculous. These are such a good toy,' a frustrated Dad wrote.
一位沒買到玩具的沮喪父親寫道：“這玩具多好啊！大家的評價都太可笑了。這款玩具真的不錯。”

'Hair tangles? The warnings are both on the instructions and box. How do these possibly get SO ENTANGLED in hair, when they are "brushed against"? No, your kids are obviously doing something they shouldn't be doing.'
“纏頭發上了？玩具說明書和包裝盒上都有注意事項啊，怎么可能碰一下頭發就纏得這么死？肯定是你家孩子瞎玩弄的。”

'Let's say you have a Honda, and got into an accident. Would you call the dealership or manufacturer? No. Blame yourself, or the at-fault person...this infuriates me. This is such a creative toy. Builds motor skills, and enhances creativity.'
“這么說吧，比如你開著輛本田撞車了，你會給經銷商或者制造商打電話投訴嗎？肯定不會啊！只能怪自己或責任方……這些瞎評論的人真是氣死我了。這款玩具多有創意啊，培養動手能力，還提高了孩子的創造力。”

Vocabulary
spawn：產卵；大量生產
disgruntled：不滿的；不高興的
sanity：明智，理智
tangle：纏結；亂作一團

英文來源：每日郵報
譯者：許楠楠
審校&編輯：杜娟